PORT OF HARLINGEN 3-CENT TAX DRAWS RESIDENTS' IRE

By Juan Montoya

For the first time since 1997 some 50,000 property owners within the Port of Harlingen Authority have received a tax bill  that its board convinced the Cameron County Commissioners Court to pass in November to generate funds for maintenance and operations at the facility on the Arroyo Colorado.

The tax bill for the port will be in addition to the county property tax bill mailed by the Cameron County Tax-Assessor-Collector last October and has surprised the taxpayers of the district.

The port tax will be levied on the property of residents of the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District, the Rio Hondo Independent School District and southern Willacy County. On a $100,000 home, the annual levy is $30. That tax is expected to generate about $1 million annually.

Property owners say that the the tax officer should have sent their bill to their mortgage holders so they can include it in their house payment escrow accounts. A spokesman for the ax office said that bills had been sent to the companies already.

'We already did that," he said. "Since the commissioners approved the tax and we had already sent the tax statements in October, we included the Port of Harlingen tax notice in the second round, in the January statements." 

"It's wreaking havoc over here," said a property owner. "We were very surprised when we got the additional bill."

The Port of Harlingen Authority Board had the court pas a 3-cent per $100 of assessed valuation on property within portions of Cameron and Willacy counties, that will be used for maintenance and to be used to leverage bond issues for the port's development.

Created in 1926, the Port of Harlingen sits on over 2,000 acres of land with 650 feet of dry cargo wharf, 100 feet of dry bulk wharf and 5 docks.

Before commissioners approved the tax, Chairman Alan Johnson said that "last year (2017) our net operating income was $160,000 – a year,” Johnson said. “That’s our bottom line income after all expenses, all the tariffs, all the rents and leases that we collect.”

Johnson said a large part of the funding issue for the port is related to a study officials paid for a few years ago. It found that to put the port facilities on the best possible footing, it would cost $25 million.

“Well, quick math will tell you that with $160,000 net operating income, how many bonds can you pass to pay that note off if you’ve got to pass $25 million worth of bonds?” he asked. “I’m a retired banker. I can tell you, I’d never take that deal – ever.

“So we’ve got to go back to the constituency (taxpayers) for a period of time,” he added.

The port's website states that it "provides efficient and economical transportation to markets as close as Corpus Christi and as far as the Great Lakes. The Port is the second largest in Cameron County, with an overall cargo tonnage of 1 million annually."

According to provisions in the Texas Water Code, the tax must be approved by the Cameron County Commissioners Court. On Nov. 27, 2018, a unanimous court passed the item under consent agenda without discussion. The item had been supported by the commissioners of the port, and resolutions by the City of Harlingen, city of Rio Hondo, the Harlingen Economic Development Council, and the Harlingen Chamber of Commerce.

Before the county commissioners approved the tax, a group calling itself the Citizens of the Port of Harlingen Tax Increase gathered signatures on a petition protesting the proposed tax. 

Yet, during the public hearings held in the court, no one attended to speak out against the assessment.

In their Facebook page, the group said in August that "As of this morning we have 213 signatures to take to our county commissioners that will ultimately have final say on if we are going to be seeing a tax increase.

"We have to get the word out if we want to see the Port be accountable for their actions versus passing the buck to the tax payers. Make sure you sign and share. If we do nothing... the end result is higher taxes."

The Port boasts of $96.47 million in revenue on their website. 

The resolution submitted by the port authority stated that the port’s board analyzed and evaluated the estimated income and “it appears that such projected income will be insufficient to provide for the reasonably anticipated maintenance, operation, and upkeep of the port.”